I think season four was fine the way it was, even if it was crunched with the original season five. The pace was up and there wasn't room for fluff stories and boring subplots.
But as for season five - I would have changed the following:
1 - Two words: No Lochley. It would have been interesting to see how Ivanova dealt with Marcus' death.
2 - Have the Londo/Draak arc start toward the beginning of the season and have the Centauri be a subplot throughout the whole season. G'Kar would be featured prominently in the storyline, but he would still become a religious icon on Narn towards the end.
3 - Have Garibaldi go back to being Chief of Security (Zack would remain a minor character) and have him stay on the wagon. Lise would move to B5 and join the cast on a regular basis. Garibaldi would retire at her insistence at the end of the season and they'd go back to Mars.
4 - Keep the telepath arc, but put it at the end of the season. The teeps should have been less hippyish and more conflicted. Also, Byron could have been just as conscientious without being so damn whiny. His martyrdom is essential, but the role should have been cast to a different actor. And putting this arc at the end could lead into a TV movie about the Telepath War and the series wouldn't have fizzled so much at the end.
5 - "Sleeping in Light" should have been expanded to a two-parter or movie to address the events of season five and foreshadow other things that happened in the meantime.
Seasons 2 & 3 were fine the way they were, but they should have included Sinclair in some of the subplots with the Rangers. His abrupt departure should not have gone explained in a few sentences.
In Season one, they could have started the Shadow arc a little sooner and cut out some of those episodes entirely (you know which ones). But like a lot of shows, the first season is the time for it to find its identity. And some of the early ones were a little Startrekky.
But all-in-all, I was never disappointed by the way the show was produced in the first place. It was the best show on TV at the time and I just wish it would get the chance to continue in some form sometime.
But as for season five - I would have changed the following:
1 - Two words: No Lochley. It would have been interesting to see how Ivanova dealt with Marcus' death.
2 - Have the Londo/Draak arc start toward the beginning of the season and have the Centauri be a subplot throughout the whole season. G'Kar would be featured prominently in the storyline, but he would still become a religious icon on Narn towards the end.
3 - Have Garibaldi go back to being Chief of Security (Zack would remain a minor character) and have him stay on the wagon. Lise would move to B5 and join the cast on a regular basis. Garibaldi would retire at her insistence at the end of the season and they'd go back to Mars.
4 - Keep the telepath arc, but put it at the end of the season. The teeps should have been less hippyish and more conflicted. Also, Byron could have been just as conscientious without being so damn whiny. His martyrdom is essential, but the role should have been cast to a different actor. And putting this arc at the end could lead into a TV movie about the Telepath War and the series wouldn't have fizzled so much at the end.
5 - "Sleeping in Light" should have been expanded to a two-parter or movie to address the events of season five and foreshadow other things that happened in the meantime.
Seasons 2 & 3 were fine the way they were, but they should have included Sinclair in some of the subplots with the Rangers. His abrupt departure should not have gone explained in a few sentences.
In Season one, they could have started the Shadow arc a little sooner and cut out some of those episodes entirely (you know which ones). But like a lot of shows, the first season is the time for it to find its identity. And some of the early ones were a little Startrekky.
But all-in-all, I was never disappointed by the way the show was produced in the first place. It was the best show on TV at the time and I just wish it would get the chance to continue in some form sometime.
;-)
